Early life and education
I wasn't supposed to go to the front. So I was reading the paper and walking along, after a while I found myself in the front of the car. The conductor was in the back and he yelled, "Come back here you so-and-so" using very vile language, "you come back here. You must be one of those smart'uns from up in Chicago or New York or somewhere." It just came to me then and I felt like a fool. I was never white in my life but I think I turned white. I just stood there and held the newspaper down and looked at him. I walked back there. Then he got so nasty, he began to curse me out and call me all kinds of names using very degrading language. I just couldn't take it. And he made me very, very angry. I used to have quite a temper.Motley spent the majority of his life in Chicago, where he was a contemporary of fellow Chicago artists
Foreign study and inspirations
In 1927 he applied for aCareer
In the beginning of his career as an artist, Motley intended to solely pursue portrait painting. After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1918, he decided that he would focus his art on black subjects and themes, ultimately as an effort to relieve racial tensions. In 1919, Chicago's south side race riots rendered his family housebound for over six days. In the midst of this heightened racial tension, Motley was very aware of the clear boundaries and consequences that came along with race. He understood that he had certain educational and socioeconomic privileges, and thus, he made it his goal to use these advantages to uplift the black community. Motley experienced success early in his career; in 1927 his piece ''Mending Socks'' was voted the most popular painting at the Newark Museum in New Jersey. He was awarded the Harmon Foundation award in 1928, and then became the first African American to have a one-man exhibit in New York City. He sold 22 out of the 26 exhibited paintings. Motley would go on to become the first black artist to have a portrait of a black subject displayed at theSkin tone and identity
Motley's family lived in a quiet neighborhood on Chicago's south side in an environment that was racially tolerant. In his youth, Motley did not spend much time around other Black people. It was this disconnection with the African-American community around him that established Motley as an outsider. Motley himself was light skinned and of mixed racial makeup, being African, Native American and European. Unable to fully associate with either Black nor white, Motley wrestled all his life with his own racial identity. Although Motley reinforces the association of higher social standing with "whiteness" or American determinates of beauty, he also exposes the diversity within the race as a whole. Motley's work made it much harder for viewers to categorize a person as strictly Black or white. He showed the nuances and variability that exists within a race, making it harder to enforce a strict racial ideology. Motley used portraiture "as a way of getting to know his own people". He realized that in American society, different statuses were attributed to each gradation of skin tone. Motley portrayed skin color and physical features as belonging to a spectrum. He used distinctions in skin color and physical features to give meaning to each shade of African American. In the 1920s and 1930s, during the New Negro Movement, Motley dedicated a series of portraits to types of Negroes. He focused mostly on women of mixed racial ancestry, and did numerous portraits documenting women of varying African-blood quantities ("octoroon," "quadroon," "mulatto"). In titling his pieces, Motley used these antebellum creole classifications ("mulatto," "octoroon," etc.) in order to show the social implications of the "one drop rule," and the dynamics of what it means to be Black. He would expose these different "negro types" as a way to counter the fallacy of labeling all Black people as a generalized people. These direct visual reflections of status represented the broader social construction of Blackness, and its impact on Black relations. By asserting the individuality of African Americans in portraiture, Motley essentially demonstrated Blackness as being "worthy of formal portrayal." These portraits celebrate skin tone as something diverse, inclusive, and pluralistic.Harris, Michael D. "Color Lines: Mapping Color Consciousness in the Art of Archibald Motley, Jr." ''Colored Pictures: Race and Visual Representation''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. They also demonstrate an understanding that these categorizations become synonymous with public identity and influence one's opportunities in life.De Souza, Pauline. "Black Awakening: Gender and Representation in the Harlem Renaissance." in Katy Deepwell (ed.), ''Women Artists and Modernism'', Manchester University Press, 1998, pp. 55-69. It is often difficult if not impossible to tell what kind of racial mixture the subject has without referring to the title. These physical markers of Blackness, then, are unstable and unreliable, and Motley exposed that difference.They're not all the same color, they're not all black, they're not all, as they used to say years ago, high yellow, they're not all brown. I try to give each one of them character as individuals. And that's hard to do when you have so many figures to do, putting them all together and still have them have their characteristics. (Motley, 1978)By painting the differences in their skin tones, Motley is also attempting to bring out the differences in personality of his subjects. It could be interpreted that through this differentiating, Motley is asking white viewers not to lump all African Americans into the same category or stereotype, but to get to know each of them as individuals before making any judgments.Oral history interview with Archibald Motley, 1978 Jan. 23-1979 Mar. 1
Works and observation of jazz culture
His night scenes and crowd scenes, heavily influenced by jazz culture, are perhaps his most popular and most prolific. He depicted a vivid, urban black culture that bore little resemblance to the conventional and marginalizing rustic images of black Southerners so familiar in popular culture.Pilgrim, David''Bronzeville at Night''
In his paintings of jazz culture, Motley often depicted Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, which offered a safe haven for blacks migrating from the South. One of his most famous works showing the urban black community is ''Bronzeville at Night'', showing African Americans as actively engaged, urban peoples who identify with the city streets. In the work, Motley provides a central image of the lively street scene and portrays the scene as a distant observer, capturing the many individual interactions but paying attention to the big picture at the same time.Amy M. Mooney, ''Archibald J. Motley Jr.'' (2004), p. 95. Like many of his other works, Motley's cross-section of Bronzeville lacks a central narrative. For example, a brooding man with his hands in his pockets gives a stern look. Behind the bus, a man throws his arms up ecstatically. In the center, a man exchanges words with a partner, his arm up and head titled as if to show that he is making a point. By displaying a balance between specificity and generalization, he allows "the viewer to identify with the figures and the places of the artist's compositions."''Stomp''
In ''Stomp'', Motley painted a busy cabaret scene which again documents the vivid urban black culture. The excitement in the painting is palpable: one can observe a woman in a white dress throwing her hands up to the sound of the music, a couple embracing—hand in hand—in the back of the cabaret, the lively pianist watching the dancers. Both black and white couples dance and hobnob with each other in the foreground. For example, on the right of the painting, an African-American man wearing a black tuxedo dances with a woman whom Motley gives a much lighter tone. By doing this, he hoped to counteract perceptions of segregation. Critics of Motley point out that the facial features of his subjects are in the same manner as minstrel figures. But Motley had no intention to stereotype and hoped to use the racial imagery to increase "the appeal and accessibility of his crowds." It opened up a more universal audience for his intentions to represent African-American progress and urban lifestyle.''Octoroon Girl''
''The Octoroon Girl'' features a woman who is one-eighth black. In the image a graceful young woman with dark hair, dark eyes and light skin sits on a sofa while leaning against a warm red wall. She wears a black velvet dress with red satin trim, a dark brown hat and a small gold chain with a pendant. In her right hand, she holds a pair of leather gloves. The woman stares directly at the viewer with a soft, but composed gaze. Her face is serene. Motley balances the painting with a picture frame and the rest of the couch on the left side of the painting. Her clothing and background all suggest that she is of higher class. The poised posture and direct gaze project confidence. The way in which her elongated hands grasp her gloves demonstrates her sense of style and elegance. Motley's use of physicality and objecthood in this portrait demonstrates conformity to white aesthetic ideals, and shows how these artistic aspects have very realistic historical implications. Motley was "among the few artists of the 1920s who consistently depicted African Americans in a positive manner." ''The Octoroon Girl'' is an example of this effort to put African-American women in a good light – or, perhaps, simply to make known the realities of middle class African-American life. Motley's presentation of the woman not only fulfilled his desire to celebrate accomplished blacks but also created an aesthetic role model to which those who desired an elite status might look up to. ''The Octoroon Girl'' was meant to be a symbol of social, racial, and economic progress. In Motley's paintings, he made little distinction between octoroon women and white women, depicting octoroon women with material representations of status and European features. It appears that the message Motley is sending to his white audience is that even though the octoroon woman is part African American, she clearly does not fit the stereotype of being poor and uneducated. He requests that white viewers look beyond the genetic indicators of her race and see only the way she acts now—distinguished, poised and with dignity. In his attempt to deconstruct the stereotype, Motley has essentially removed all traces of the octoroon's race.''The Mulatress''
In his portrait ''The Mulatress'' (1924), Motley features a "mulatto" sitter who is very poised and elegant in the way that "the octoroon girl" is. The sitter is strewn with jewelry, and sits in such a way that projects a certain chicness and relaxedness. She is portrayed as elegant, but a sharpness and tenseness are evident in her facial expression. Motley was ultimately aiming to portray the troubled and convoluted nature of the "tragic mulatto." Motley himself identified with this sense of feeling caught in the middle of one's own identity. Thus, this portrait speaks to the social implications of racial identity by distinguishing the "mulatto" from the upper echelons of black society that was reserved for "octoroons." In this way, Motley used portraiture in order to demonstrate the complexities of the impact of racial identity. Motley used sharp angles and dark contrasts within the model's face to indicate that she was emotional or defiant. While this gave the subject more personality and depth, it can also be said the Motley played into the stereotype that black women are angry and vindictive. Many of the opposing messages that are present in Motley's works are attributed to his relatively high social standing which would create an element of bias even though Motley was also black. Still, Motley was one of the only artists of the time willing to paint African-American models with such precision and accuracy. He treated these portraits as a quasi-scientific study in the different gradients of race. The distinction between the girl's couch and the mulatress' wooden chair also reveals the class distinctions that Motley associated with each of his subjects. In this series of portraits, Motley draws attention to the social distinctions of each subject.''Nightlife''
During this period, Motley developed a reusable and recognizable language in his artwork, which included contrasting light and dark colors, skewed perspectives, strong patterns and the dominance of a single hue. He also created a set of characters who appeared repeatedly in his paintings with distinctive postures, gestures, expressions and habits. These figures were often depicted standing very close together, if not touching or overlapping one another. ''Nightlife'', in the collection of theAnd that's why I say that racism is the first thing that they have got to get out of their heads, forget about this damned racism, to hell with racism. ... That means nothing to an artist. We're all human beings. And the sooner that's forgotten and the sooner that you can come back to yourself and do the things that you want to do. (Motley 1978)In this excerpt, Motley calls for the removal of racism from social norms. He goes on to say that especially for an artist, it shouldn't matter what color of skin someone has—everyone is equal. He suggests that once racism is erased, everyone can focus on his or her self and enjoy life. In ''Nightlife'', the club patrons appear to have forgotten racism and are making the most of life by having a pleasurable night out listening and dancing to jazz music. As a result of the club-goers removal of racism from their thoughts, Motley can portray them so pleasantly with warm colors and inviting body language.
Death
Motley died in Chicago on January 16, 1981.Personal life
Motley married his high school sweetheart Edith Granzo in 1924, whose German immigrant parents were opposed to their interracial relationship and disowned her for her marriage. His nephew (raised as his brother),Recognition and awards
* Frank G. Logan prize for the painting "A Mulattress" (1925). *Joseph N. Eisendrath Award from the Art Institute of Chicago for the painting "Syncopation" (1925). *RecipientRetrospective exhibition
''Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist'', the first retrospective of the American artist's paintings in two decades, opened at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University on January 30, 2014. The exhibition then traveled to The Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas (June 14–September 7, 2014), The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (October 19, 2014 – February 1, 2015), The Chicago Cultural Center (March 6–August 31, 2015), and The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (October 2, 2015 – January 17, 2016).References
Further reading
* * *Robinson, Jontyle Theresa and Wendy Greenhouse, ''The Art of Archibald John Motley'', ''Jr.'' Chicago: Chicago Historical Society, 1991.External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Motley, Archibald John 1891 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Works Progress Administration workers Harlem Renaissance Artists from Chicago Artists from New Orleans Painters from Illinois Painters from Louisiana Englewood Technical Prep Academy alumni 20th-century African-American painters 20th-century American male artists African-American Catholics